As the tsunami of COVID-19 cases began sweeping toward the Midwest, we had to quickly prepare for a surge of COVID-19 patients while continuing to care for everyone else.

First, how do we care for those with COVID-19? They would be part of our critically ill patient population, and there would potentially be more patients than beds. Care needed to meet the highest quality and safety standards and not overstretch our supply of personal protective equipment (PPE). Therefore, specialists needed to provide care while perhaps not physically present.

The second issue was: How do we care for and protect the tens of thousands of other patients outside our walls, many of whom were at increased risk of COVID-19 and associated complications?

All these issues had the same solution—telemedicine.

To support patients in our hospitals, we repurposed 600 bedside iPads inpatients use to order meals and communicate with their care team by adding an app that allows them to communicate with specialists. In two weeks, our hospitalists, intensivists and infectious disease specialists had the app installed, as well as everyone from psychiatrists to oncologists, pharmacists to nutritionists, and even our spiritual care team had the ability to use the app to connect with patients.

Source: www.fiercehealthcare.com